


Expectations

by lets_talk_appella



Series: PP3 Doesn't Exist Here [5]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Comfort, Confusion, F/F, Romance, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 12:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15096632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lets_talk_appella/pseuds/lets_talk_appella
Summary: The immediate follow up to That’s When She Knew (this will make more sense if you read that first), in which Beca and Chloe finally admit their feelings to one another. After leaving Central Park, they go back to their apartment and Beca believes that Chloe seems to have some… expectations of where things should be headed next. Of course, she panics. Part of a series.





	Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will really make more sense if you read the part before it, That's When She Knew, first, fair warning!

Beca couldn’t stop smiling. It was kind of gross, actually, how happy and bright she was. Her cheeks ached, her teeth were kind of dry, and she worried she was inadvertently on her way to becoming a mouth-breather. But it was okay, because if she had it her way, the reason for her borderline manic smile would be with her forever, holding her hand as they climbed the stairs to their small Brooklyn apartment.

Chloe couldn’t stop laughing. She hung tight to Beca’s hand even though the stairway was really too narrow for anything but single-file travel. As a result, her arm was awkwardly twisted behind her so that Beca’s fingers remained laced between hers even as she led them both to the apartment door.

Beca noticed how perfectly their hands fit together. She couldn’t imagine ever letting go.

Chloe turned to look back over her shoulder at Beca and beamed, radiating joy that warmed Beca from head to toe. Beca’s smile only widened as yet another peal of laughter escaped Chloe.

At that moment, more focused on the woman with her than on the stairs, Chloe tripped on a step and fell forward with a surprised “Oof!” Reflexively, she tried to use her arms to catch herself, forgetting that one hand was already full. Chloe’s grasp yanked Beca forward sharply and they landed hard on the stairs, Beca on top of Chloe.

“Shit, are you okay?” Beca asked frantically as she scrambled off Chloe, shaking their hands free of one another.

“Ugh…” Chloe groaned as she slowly rolled herself over to sit on the stair she’d tripped on. “I think so?”

“Are you sure? Do we need to go to the hospital? Can you wiggle your fingers? Does it hurt when –”

“Beca,” Chloe said firmly, “I’m fine, I just tripped. And then an elephant landed on me,” she added teasingly.

Beca’s mouth dropped in mock outrage. “Excuse me!” she exclaimed, “You pulled me down! If anyone should be complaining, it’s me!”

“Is that right?” Chloe asked, smiling mischievously as she reached forward to hold Beca’s hand again.

“Well… yeah. It is,” Beca tried to say confidently, attempting to ignore the patterns Chloe was tracing on the back of her hand and up her wrist.

“Hmm,” was the response, followed by, “Did you not like being on top?”

Beca choked on nothing, blinking dumbly at Chloe. “That’s – no – I liked –”

Chloe’s laugh, light and full, cut off her rambling. “Oh, Bec,” she managed, “You’re too easy!”

Not wanting to be outdone, Beca threw on a smirk and leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of Chloe’s hips. She heard Chloe’s breath catch at the sudden proximity and she smirked, nudging their noses together gently. She dipped her head, lips barely brushing Chloe’s and then pulled back teasingly. She smiled when Chloe chased after her, enjoying the effect her teasing had had.

“I like being on top just fine,” she whispered. “But can you handle it?” She was only kidding, and not really meaning for anything to come from it, so she was surprised by the little whine that came from Chloe.

“Come here, then,” Chloe breathed. “We’ll find out.”

Beca obliged immediately, extending forward to place a soft kiss against Chloe’s lips, marveling at the sense of rightness that came over her at the action. Chloe’s hands went either side of Beca’s neck, holding her steady.

They kept the kiss brief and pulled away after a few seconds to rest their foreheads together.

“I love you,” Beca said softly, giddy with happiness.

“I love you, too,” Chloe responded immediately. “And I can’t believe I get to say that to you.”

“It is still a new thing, isn’t it?” commented Beca as she rose to stand back from Chloe, tugging her upright by the hand.

Shaking her head slowly and threading their fingers together again, Chloe replied, “Sort of, but it’s been there for a while. Now we just get to tell each other.”

Her face stretching into yet another smile, Beca agreed, “True. And I really, really like it.”

Chloe merely responded with a laugh as she tightened her hold on Beca’s hand and resumed leading her to their apartment. By some miracle, they arrived at their door without further injury. Beca reached her free hand into her pocket for her keys, struggling slightly to extract them from her skinny jeans.

“I’m glad Amy’s gone for the week,” Chloe said airily when Beca finally fished out the keys.

“Oh?” Beca glanced at her.

Chloe nodded, “Yeah, it’ll be nice to have some privacy tonight.”

Beca fumbled the keys, nearly dropping them as she registered Chloe’s words. Or, more specifically, the potential implication behind them.

Deciding she was reading too much into it, Beca cast the thought away. Finally, with a jingle of metal, she managed to unlock the door, granting them access to their home. They tried to enter simultaneously, bumping their shoulders into the doorframe and bouncing back.

“Chlo,” Beca laughed, “We can’t fit through the door at the same time. You have to let go of my hand.”

Jutting her lower lip out into a pout, Chloe reluctantly released Beca’s hand and entered the apartment.

“Sorry Bec,” she said, amused, “I didn’t want to stop touching you.”

Beca snorted as she too entered and shut the door behind her. She meant to respond equally as flirtatiously, but the words got lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth as she fully registered Chloe’s words. She wasn’t used to Chloe being this forward. Confident and teasing, sure, but the whole “top” thing in the hall and then the flirting was new territory. She found herself reeling a little, uncertain of what Chloe was getting at.

“So,” she started awkwardly, noticing with surprise that Chloe was very obviously staring at their shared fold-out bed. “Should we, like, order some takeout, or…”

Tearing her eyes away from the bed, Chloe looked around at Beca with a casual, “Nah, I’m not hungry yet, maybe later?”

“Sure,” Beca replied easily. She wasn’t hungry either, though her stomach was beginning to flutter for some reason.

With a wicked smile, Chloe reached forward to hook her fingers in Beca’s belt loops. Giving a tug, she pulled Beca to her for a kiss as Beca wound her arms around Chloe’s neck. Even though they kept the kiss tame and soft, Beca’s skin burned at the contact, her senses and emotions heightened by the thrill of the day and the newness of tasting Chloe’s lips.

Chloe pulled back only far enough to brush their noses together as she changed the angle to continue the kiss, her lips capturing Beca’s once again. Experimenting, they played with different pressures and angles, getting to know each other’s styles.

The kiss came to a natural end when they both had to breathe. Breaking their contact and stepping back so she could see Beca’s face, Chloe quietly said, “I’m not used to that yet.”

Beca’s mouth quirked upward and she replied, “Me neither.”

“I like it, though. A lot,” said Chloe, biting her lip and letting her eyes fall to focus back on Beca’s mouth.

“Me too…” responded Beca slowly. The fluttering in her stomach increased, but not necessarily in a good way. The situation was starting to make her uneasy; was Chloe implying that she wanted to do more than gentle kissing and take things further? _It would make sense if she did,_ Beca thought. _That’s probably what most people would do._

She wanted to ask Chloe about it, about what she was expecting to happen, but she didn’t want to seem weird or kill the mood. Though they’d said the “L-word” multiple times already, she’d only figured out that she was in love with Chloe less than an hour before. There was still a lot for her to process, but it seemed like Chloe was expecting more; she’d made comments about privacy, and being on top, and she’d been looking at the bed.

Okay, so Chloe almost definitely wanted to take things up a notch. Beca could do that. There was nothing wrong with a healthy make-out session. To be honest, she kind of wanted to get on with that too.

“So,” she started uncertainly, not sure how Chloe wanted to do this. “Should we, like…?” Her nerves getting the best of her, Beca resorted to trailing off and gesturing between herself and Chloe with her hands.

Smiling shyly, Chloe replied, “Yeah, I guess we should. We are adults, I suppose.”

Beca’s breath hitched and she paused, confused by Chloe’s answer. Wow, okay. So, Chloe really wanted this to be at the next level.

Floundering, Beca managed, “Oh, uh, so, just standing here?” She figured that standing where they were was a good a place as any to start the ball rolling. She might even use the door if the moment seemed right and if it was okay with Chloe.

With a gentle laugh, Chloe replied, “No, we should get comfy. Join me on the bed?”

Beca’s stomach jolted.

Without waiting for Beca’s response, Chloe slipped off her shoes, dropped her purse on the floor, and sat on their shared fold out. She scooted backward, and after propping up some pillows, reclined against the back of the couch that served as the headboard.

“This is okay, right?” she asked once comfortable.

Beca nodded automatically, blinking a few times. “Yep,” she heard herself squeak out, “That’s, like, good.”

Everything was suddenly moving very quickly. Much _too_ quickly. Beca wasn’t at all sure what was happening or where Chloe was going with this. She needed a second to come to her senses or she was going to combust.

“Um,” she said breathlessly, “I’m just gonna go – uh – to the bathroom?” her voice rose at the end of the sentence.

Chloe beamed at her, oozing contentment as Beca stuttered through her words.

“Okay,” she replied, “Hurry back.”

Her face warming, Beca all but lunged for their bathroom – a tiny area hidden from the rest of the apartment by a shower curtain – and yanked the curtain in place behind her, making it rattle against the rod. She spun to face the mirror and leaned forward over the sink, trying to calm her racing heart. Jesus. Exactly how far did Chloe want to go?

After a moment, she remembered that Chloe could clearly hear her; their shower curtain did nothing to conceal noise. She fumbled for the sink, turning it on and letting it run for a moment before sticking her hand under and splashing her face with some of the cold water.

As she dried her cheeks on a towel, she caught sight of her own wide eyes in the mirror and paused, staggered by her own abrupt anxiety. What was wrong with her? It was only Chloe out there.

Chloe. The literal embodiment of perfection, who, somehow, was as in love with Beca as Beca was with her. It didn’t make sense to Beca, that someone so bright could love her, but Chloe did. And now… was Chloe expecting them to act on that realization?

Once she’d finished dabbing her face dry, Beca replaced the towel on its rack and turned the faucet off. She once again leaned forward, bracing her hands on the sink as she let her head roll forward. She needed a moment to think. It would make sense for them to take things up a notch, physically. Chloe had said she’d been in love with Beca for years; there was probably a lot of tension built up.

She wasn’t opposed to staying in their apartment and making out. Not at all. In fact, the thought of that made her hands clench involuntarily on the sink’s edge and her belly tighten. But it almost seemed as though Chloe was ready to take things even further. The way she’d lain on the bed, the way she’d used the word “adult.” Well. Typically, tagging “adult” on things had pretty significant implications. Beca’s heart thudded almost painfully in her chest as she considered the possibility that Chloe wanted more than making out. That Chloe might want to have sex.

God.

Chloe was probably _expecting_ them to have sex.

Isn’t that what you do when you realize that you love someone? That you’re in love with that someone? Isn’t it kind of the next natural step?

Beca swallowed hard. The idea of sex with Chloe was… intriguing. She figured she’d enjoy it; Chloe always had been a very physical person, and Beca wasn’t blind. She saw how fit Chloe was, how breathtakingly beautiful. And merely the kissing had been phenomenal. She was definitely attracted to Chloe. Like, a lot. She loved Chloe. Anyone would be lucky to be in her place.

But what if she wasn’t good enough?

The strength of her attraction didn’t change that Beca had only just realized that she was in love with Chloe. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d said that it would take some getting used to. She needed time to change her mindset from “friend Chloe” to “girlfriend Chloe.” For Christ’s sake, they hadn’t even used the word “girlfriend” yet or talked about an official relationship status.

That morning, they’d woken up as best friends. And now, by some weird turn of events, Chloe was sprawled on their bed, waiting for her. Expecting her to prove her feelings.

Right now, Chloe Beale was on their bed, expecting Beca to make love to her.

Beca squeezed her eyes shut at the rush of fear that shot through her. Again, _what if she wasn’t good enough?_ She had no qualms about Chloe’s abilities, but her own… it had been a while since the last time. And that had been with Jesse. It was entirely different. Embarrassment swept through her as she considered that she might disappoint Chloe.

“Bec? You good?” Beca’s eyes flew open at the sound of Chloe calling for her.

“Yep!” she called back, thankful that her voice sounded relatively normal. “Almost ready!”

“Okay!”

Christ. Why had she said that? Now Chloe probably thought Beca was getting ready for them to have sex.

_What would that even entail?_ Beca wondered frantically, her mind spiraling. _The getting ready part._ By some lucky circumstance, she’d shaved her legs that morning. Should she take care of other things? Maybe brush her teeth? But, no, that would take too long, and Chloe was probably getting weirded out by how long she’d been in the bathroom already – it had been more than a couple of minutes. Too much longer, and she’d be entering sketchy town.

With a deep breath through her nose, Beca forced herself to meet her own eyes in the mirror. She stood back from the sink, running a hand through her hair to make it look presentable.

Oh God. She had no idea what she was doing. She’d never had sex with a woman before, and Chloe was probably expecting it to be great.

It almost certainly wouldn’t be.

Beca wasn’t ready.

But apparently, Chloe was.

And she’d do anything for Chloe. Even this.

Doing her best to ignore the tightening in her throat and the tremor in her knees, Beca turned and flung open the shower curtain, hoping that the display of confidence would drive away her nerves. It did not. Rather, the fresh sight of Chloe laying on her back on their bed, eyes half closed and breathing slowly with a small smile on her face, sent Beca’s pulse into overdrive.

She wasn’t sure she could do this. There was no turning back once they crossed that line together.

She wanted to run and hide.

But Chloe had heard her rip aside the curtain and was looking at her, eyes wide open again and face expectant. It was too late to run now. Her only choice was to launch herself from the bathroom and into the main area of the apartment before she chickened out.

 “Hey,” Beca said, inwardly cringing at the slight break in her voice. “Give me just a sec?”

Chloe nodded, throwing Beca the brightest smile she’d ever seen. Beca vaguely registered how excited Chloe looked before she turned her gaze to the floor.

She moved to stand between the end of the bed and their table, still not looking at Chloe. Once in place, she’d intended to face the bed to climb on it but changed her mind at the last moment and instead turned the other way, her back to Chloe and their bed, pretending to be examining the mail spread over the table’s surface. In reality, her eyes stared down, unfocused, as the situation between her and Chloe became vividly, alarmingly real.

She could feel Chloe’s eyes on her; of course, she was watching her, waiting for her. Beca swallowed hard. Her mind was spinning, whirring, flying a mile a minute as she tried to stave off her panic.

She knew that Chloe had experience with sex, with guys as well as probably some girls, at least she thought. And it’s not like she was a pure Mayflower, either – she had dated Jesse for more than three years. But that was different. She’d made him wait a long time, and even then, it hadn’t felt completely right. It hadn’t been bad, but she never felt the connection that books and movies always seemed so hyped up about. She figured it was because while she’d definitely loved him, she hadn’t really been in love with him.

That had to make a difference, right? So, with Chloe, it would be better. Right? Because they loved each other, it would be okay?

It was simply that Beca had no idea what she was doing. She knew the theory behind it all, the general mechanics of it, and she had a general idea of what she liked done to her. But she’d never been with a girl in that way, had never even kissed a girl until Chloe earlier in the day. Sure, the kissing hadn’t been much different; softer, maybe, gentler, possibly more sensual and less possessive, and with a general hint of chapstick. It had been nice. Like, really nice.

Sex, though, was a whole different can of worms. Beca’s mouth went dry. Who would be on top? Would they share and, like, alternate? Or was it more of a side-by-side kind of deal? And what exactly was she supposed to do with the breasty business? Would they get in the way? What if her arm cramped up? Should she try that one thing that people always joke about? And what about traveling downtown? How did that work with a girl? What if she messed up somehow and Chloe called off their whole relationship before it had really started?

Beca was breathing rapidly. Shit. Chloe was expecting some spectacular, mind-blowing sex like the kind she’d probably had with tons of other girls, and Beca was going to totally disappoint her and Chloe was never going to want to see her again. Which would be awkward, since they lived together.

Beca felt her heart rate increase. Oh God. This whole thing was a mistake and she didn’t know how to have sex with a girl and it was going to be awful and she should just call it off now and move to a different apartment far far away and –

“Beca? What are you doing?”

Beca jerked at the sound of Chloe’s voice, full of confusion and concern. She probably looked like a total idiot, just standing there at the end of their bed. She wondered idly if Chloe had already taken off her clothes or if she was supposed to do that part for her. Why were there so many logistics to this? Should she have taken off her makeup while she was in the bathroom so it wouldn’t smear? Should she do that now? Or would that kill the mood? What was the mood? Was there still a mood?

“Beca? You…okay?”

Of course, Chloe was waiting for a response. _Oh God._

In a strangled voice that sounded nothing like her, Beca squeaked out “Yep! I’m great! I should… yep!”

She squeezed her eyes shut at how awkward and painful that had sounded. She could practically feel a hole being bored into the back of her head by Chloe’s watchful stare. Why did Chloe have to know her quite so well?

She heard a rustling motion from behind and she pictured Chloe moving toward her. The thought of Chloe reaching to her, touching her, made her eyes fly open and she had to fight the urge to spring away from the bed like a madwoman.

“Wait!” She fired out sharply. The rustling stopped instantly. “I’ll… let me go to you, yeah?”

“O...kay?” came the uncertain response from behind her.

Beca truly felt the panic set in then. She was pretty sure her palms were sweating, which, not sexy at all. She really wasn’t sure about this. She figured that she wanted it, wanted Chloe. Beca loved Chloe, wanted to be with her. Because yeah, pretty much anyone else would give an arm and a leg to be in her situation right now. Yet here she was, quaking in her socks, because she had no idea what she was doing. Beca really, _really_ didn’t want to disappoint Chloe. And as yet another agonizing moment dragged on, she knew she had to do something to get the ball rolling, or Chloe would think Beca didn’t want her. Which was untrue.

Well, there was only one way back from this.

Beca reached shaking hands up to her collar and started unbuttoning. She got about halfway down before she realized that maybe she should do this facing Chloe. ‘Cuz that’s sexy, right? With a deep breath and a muttered curse, Beca slowly pivoted to face Chloe, her eyes downcast.

Chloe inhaled sharply when she turned, causing Beca’s eyes to flick up toward her face and then immediately back down to their bed. Her cheeks warmed; even though it had been only a glance, she hadn’t missed the surprise and, well, the arousal in Chloe’s eyes.

Okay. She could do this. It was happening. Chloe clearly wanted this, and Beca was pretty sure she did, too. It’s just. God, she didn’t want to disappoint Chloe.

“Bec…” came Chloe’s voice, whispered in a huskier tone than normal.

Waves of anxiety churned in Beca’s stomach as she continued unbuttoning her flannel. Her hands refused to stop shaking, and she knew Chloe could tell. Finally, after what felt like eons, she had reached the last button at the bottom. Beca let the shirt hang so that it still partially covered her, revealing only a sliver of her stomach and the central part of her bra. She felt like she might be sick. She really had no idea what to do. Sure, she was in love with Chloe, but everything was moving so fast. She’d have liked more time to think before… well. It was too late now.

Beca forced herself to look at Chloe, who was still seated on their bed, fully clothed. Chloe was looking down at Beca’s abdomen, taking in the revealed skin. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as her eyes slowly moved up Beca’s torso, finally landing on her face. Beca almost flinched under the intensity of her gaze; she couldn’t remember ever seeing Chloe look so open and vulnerable. For a moment, Beca thought Chloe seemed as scared as she felt. But that was impossible because this was Chloe, who emitted confidence constantly and burst into people’s showers.

Steeling herself, Beca knew she had to take the plunge or she’d completely lose it from the tension crackling in the air. With slow, deliberate movements, Beca lifted her hands to right below the collar of her shirt. She could do this. It would probably become instinctual after a while, right? It would be fine. As her hands grasped the fabric, she took one final inhale, unable to maintain eye contact with Chloe at the last second. Her eyes dropped at the same time her hands started to tug the material from her body.

“Stop,” said Chloe loudly, sounding utterly terrified.

Beca froze instantly, her hands holding the shirt sides at an awkward distance from her body. Shame washed over her as if she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. She’d already done something wrong. She couldn’t even manage to get her own _shirt_ off properly, how could she expect to get Chloe –

 Before Beca even registered that Chloe had moved, she was standing directly in front of her, her soft hands placed delicately over Beca’s, which remained clenched on her shirt.

“Wait,” Chloe said with the same soothing tone she might use to calm a scared animal. “Beca, look at me.”

Beca couldn’t do it. Her eyes remained fixed downwards, focused on Chloe’s throat, unable to meet her eyes. She’d been wrong, had done something wrong, had messed up already. Beca’s eyes pricked and her jaw clenched.

“Hey,” Chloe begged quietly, “Please… Beca?”

Beca desperately wanted to look up, but she couldn’t bear to see the disappointment that was surely etched across Chloe’s expression. She hadn’t been enough for Chloe.

Finally, with a soft sigh, Chloe carefully rested a hand against Beca’s jaw to tilt her face upwards. When cerulean eyes met watery navy ones, Chloe’s expression softened into the most tender and loving look that Beca had ever seen directed toward her. There was no trace of disappointment or anger, only a steady, trusting love.

Chloe’s hand remained on Beca’s jaw while her other moved to wrap around her waist. She drew Beca into her and pressed a delicate kiss against Beca’s lips. Beca’s hands instinctively went to Chloe’s hips and she immediately relaxed into the contact despite her previous terror as she kissed Chloe back with as much care as she could manage. Chloe’s hand slid from Beca’s jaw into her hair as the angle of the kiss changed. After a moment, Chloe broke away to rest her forehead against Beca’s.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Nothing,” Chloe whispered earnestly. “But I had to stop you. I’m not… Bec, you looked –”

Beca pulled back to look at Chloe. “But aren’t you… don’t you want to?” She could hear the insecurity in her own voice but noted with relief that her own eyes were distinctly less liquid-filled than they had been before the kiss.

A shadow crossed Chloe’s face as her eyes darkened and she bit her lower lip again. Her eyebrows drew together, and Beca saw that she was nervous. “I mean…” Chloe started, then trailed off.  With a deep breath, she slowly shook her head and replied, “Not like this.”

“Not like…what?” Beca asked, confused.

Chloe paused, uncharacteristically uncertain of herself. Seeming to struggle with her words, she finally said, “Like… this. Now. What you were doing just then, it didn’t… I don’t think we’re ready, Beca.”

When it became clear that she didn’t have anything else to say, Beca mused, “I guess I kind of thought…”

Chloe’s eyes snapped to hers, and she asked quickly, “Thought what?”

Shrugging uncomfortably, Beca said, “Well. I thought you expected it. This. Us to – well – us to have sex. I thought you were expecting it. With me. Now.” Beca grimaced inwardly at her awkward rambling, hating that she sounded so ineloquent at such an important moment.

“Oh!” Chloe’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline and her head jerked back slightly. She turned to sit on the end of the bed, resting her hands in her lap. She looked sheepishly up at Beca as she replied. “Um. Not really?”

It was Beca’s turn to be surprised; had she really misread the situation that badly? With a puff out through her mouth, she sat on the end of the bed next to Chloe and leaned forward to rest her forearms on her knees. “Oh…” she said softly, humiliation creeping in again.

“But,” she began, needing to validate her assumption, “the whole ‘top’ thing on the stairs, and the privacy comment, and then you said the word ‘adult,’ and that only ever means sex, and then you got on the bed and everything made sense and –”

Chloe stopped her by resting a hand on her back. “Beca, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain.” Chloe ran her other hand over her face, then sighed. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Beca craned her neck to look over her shoulder at Chloe with wide eyes.

“What for?” she asked.

“For being so stupid,” Chloe replied. “I was just teasing in the hallway, and the privacy thing… Bec, I’m such an idiot. I meant that we’d need privacy to _talk_ about everything. That’s what I meant by adult, too. That we’re adults so we could have a mature, adult conversation about where we go from here relationship-wise.”

Beca’s mouth opened in surprise and she sat up and twisted to look at Chloe.

Chloe continued, “And then the bed… I thought it would be more relaxed for a serious conversation. I’m so sorry, I should have been better about explaining.”

Beca kind of wanted to curl up in a ball and die. Looking back, she was furious with herself for thinking immediately of sex. When did she turn into such a teenage boy?

Uncomfortably, Beca said, “No, you don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have jumped there. I just panicked and things were moving so quickly – or at least, I thought they were. I guess I freaked out.” She looked away from Chloe, still leaning forward, and hung her head.

“Hey,” Chloe said gently, “It was a big misunderstanding. Please don’t be embarrassed. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay?” she resumed smoothing her hand along Beca’s back, trying to reassure her. “I put out some signals and said some stupid things. I can see why it’d be easy to think that I meant…that.”

Still looking at the floor, Beca nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, “I definitely thought you were expecting us to… you know… do the do, or whatever.”

There was a beat of silence, then Chloe started to giggle. “Do the do?” she teased, briefly resting her forehead down on Beca’s back before pulling away again. “Are you, like, fifteen?”

Beca allowed herself a small grin that quickly grew into a few giggles of her own. It _was_ a pretty lame slang term for sex. “Oh, give me a break here,” she pleaded, “I’m trying!”

They sat laughing for a few moments before natural quiet fell over them. Beca still felt tense and awkward, but she was relieved that Chloe hadn’t thought she was weird or creepy for thinking about sex.

Chloe broke the momentary silence with a conversational “I mean… do you want to?” She could have been asking Beca if she wanted to go for a walk to the nearest food stand.

“No!” exclaimed Beca without thinking. Her head whipped around to look at Chloe the second the word had left her mouth.

It was impossible to miss the hurt that crossed Chloe’s face. She looked down at her lap to avoid Beca’s eyes, stung by her outburst.

A different kind of panic gripped Beca as she realized how bad that had sounded. She reached for Chloe’s hand and traced her fingertips lightly over the back of it. “Wait, let me… that’s not what I meant.” Taking it as a good sign that Chloe didn’t pull away, but rather had turned her hand over to lace their fingers together, Beca tried to salvage the train wreck that had just happened.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, because I do, but… I’m a little lost here,” Grimacing, Beca decided to be completely honest. “Okay. I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never done this with a woman.”

Chloe looked back up at Beca with a small smile, and Beca knew she’d already been forgiven for her callousness. Chloe pulled on her arm, moving their hands into her lap and forcing Beca to scoot closer to her on the bed. “It’s okay,” she said. “I know you didn’t mean it like that.”

Beca shook her head rapidly, which made Chloe laugh. Beca smiled back, relieved that the suffocating tension between them had finally broken so that they could talk properly.

Chloe leaned into Beca’s side, resting her head on Beca’s left shoulder. “We definitely don’t have to. I hadn’t even thought about it, really. You surprised me.”

Beca snorted and craned her neck to look down at what she could see of Chloe’s head from the cramped angle. “Really?” she asked, her voice laced with skepticism. She knew full well the value Chloe tended to place on the physical side of a relationship, so she didn’t believe for a second that Chloe hadn’t considered sex a possibility.

With a short laugh of her own, Chloe relented. “Ugh, why do you know me so well? Okay, I did think about it for a second on the walk back here, but I assumed we’d wait.”

Wryly, Beca responded, “Well, you know what they say about assuming things…” Chloe lifted her head from Beca’s shoulder and shoved her playfully.

“Hey! Watch it!” Beca shot out as she swung her upper body back to bounce against Chloe’s side. After their playfulness faded, Beca looked made eye contact with Chloe and asked tentatively, “So, you don’t want to do this with me?”

Widening her eyes, Chloe was quick to assert, “Of course do! I’ve thought about sleeping with you for years!”

Beca choked on air and she gasped out a “What?!” as Chloe’s face turned slightly pink at the realization of what she’d just blurted. “Dude, that’s like – okay, I mean, it’s fine obviously but like – you, wow, that’s –”

“Oh, whatever, Beca Mitchell,” Chloe interrupted, “It’s not like you were Subtle McGee either, you know! I totes caught you staring at me during Bella workouts.”

Gaping wordlessly, Beca opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to honestly deny the accusation. Finally, she mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “Control your toner.” Chloe rolled her eyes, a habit she’d picked up from Beca.

There was a comfortable pause in the conversation, and Beca realized that Chloe had put her completely at ease with the whole situation. Knowing that Chloe hadn’t expected them to have sex right away soothed her, though Beca still wanted to ensure Chloe’s happiness with the outcome of their conversation. She would be willing to try if that was what Chloe wanted.

“So,” Beca said slowly, “since you’ve wanted _all this_ ,” she gestured grandly down her own body, “for so very long, maybe we should…” Her confidence faltered and she felt a nervous pang in her stomach when Chloe’s eyes raked not-so-innocently down her body. An instant later, however, Chloe’s gaze had returned to Beca’s face with a guilty look and an apologetic smile.

“I don’t know, Bec… I saw that look on your face earlier. Your hands were shaking so much you could barely unbutton your shirt. Are you sure that you want to have sex?” Chloe asked intently.

Barely letting Chloe finish the question, Beca rushed out, “Yes! I do!”

A look of heavy skepticism marred Chloe’s features and Beca knew she had to explain herself.

“Chlo… I do, I do want to be with you like that. More than just about anything,” Beca paused as Chloe gazed at her with adoration. With a deep breath, Beca continued, “It’s just that I… I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never been with another girl. It was only ever Jesse, and that was – I don’t know – fine, but like, this is so much more,” Beca smiled sincerely. “You are _so_ much more. I love you, a lot, and I don’t wanna mess this up. I don’t know what I’m doing, but you’ve probably had such great experiences with all these other girls and there’s no way – I don’t think I can live up to that and I don’t want to disappoint you. That’s why I was so nervous earlier. Not because I don’t want to do this with you, but because I’m scared to disappoint you,” she finished sincerely, willing Chloe to understand.

Beca knew her vulnerability was written across her face, and Chloe must have seen it; she smiled gently at her, again looking at Beca like she was the most important person in the world.

Tucking a strand of hair behind Beca’s ear, Chloe said carefully, “Hey. You would never disappoint me.” She hesitated as if weighing her words in her mind so that she would convey everything to Beca in the right way.

“Believe it or not,” she continued, “I don’t have a whole lot of experience either, and especially not with ‘all those other girls,’” she used her hands to make air quotes, making Beca smile. “I’ve only ever kissed one other girl, and we never had sex. I’m just as new to this whole thing as you are. I’m learning, too.”

Beca’s eyebrows raised as she took in the new information. She muttered, “Sorry, I just assumed.”

Chloe laughed and grabbed Beca’s shoulders to pull the brunette playfully to her with a hushed, “You know what they say about assuming!”

With a smirk at the use of her own words, Beca settled sideways along the end of the pull-out bed, resting her head in Chloe’s lap.

As she absentmindedly ran fingers through brown locks, Chloe said, looking down at Beca, “Anyway, my point is… there’s no possibility that I could ever be disappointed by sex with you. Just knowing that it’s _you_ I’m with would be perfection. To be honest, I’m still in shocked that you’re in love with me! I’m really not ready for us to sleep together, either. It’s already been a big day.”

“Yeah… today was… the best day,” Beca replied thoughtfully, her voice full of emotion.

“Exactly!” enthused Chloe. “Besides, if your kissing is representative of your other skills, I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” she added with a wink.

Rather than being flustered as Chloe had expected, Beca merely smirked up at her and replied cheekily, “What can I say? I have skills. Try to keep up, Chlo.”

Chloe gasped, pretending to be affronted. “Beca Mitchell! I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly capable in that department!”

Beca’s mouth twisted and she scrunched up her nose as she pretended to think for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you’re pretty okay yourself. I might need a refresher, though, just to double-check?”

Without any hesitation, Chloe leaned down as Beca propped herself up and their lips met in the middle. It was a little awkward because of the difference in angle, but it still felt perfect. There was no doubt in Beca’s mind as Chloe’s perfect lips moved against hers – they belonged together, completely. She’d never felt this kind of connection before.

Chloe was forced to end the kiss sooner than she would like when her neck started to cramp from leaning over.

“Hmm, that’s pretty great,” Beca said as her eyes fluttered open. Chloe hummed in agreement, massaging the back of her neck.

Beca’s eyes flicked away for a moment, then returned to Chloe’s face. “So…” she started. “What do you think?”

Knowing immediately what she was getting at, Chloe responded, “I don’t think either of us is quite ready for sex just yet. As far as I’m concerned, we have the time to wait.”

Beca felt the tension completely leave her chest and she sat up to face Chloe, crossing her legs in front of her. Chloe turned to mirror her body language and they sat cross-legged looking at each other.

“Okay. I want to, eventually, though. How’s that?” Beca asked.

“Yes. Eventually,” Chloe replied simply. “We’ll get there. We’ll talk through it. But not tonight.”

Blowing a puff of air from her cheeks dramatically and running the back of a hand over her brow, Beca huffed out, “Thank God!”

Chloe snorted at the theatrics, though she could tell Beca was truly relieved by how the night had turned out. Unable to resist some teasing, Chloe countered, “Okay, excuse me, it wouldn’t have been _that_ bad.” Beca laughed at that, so full and loud that Chloe couldn’t resist joining in.

_So this is how it’s supposed to be,_ Beca thought as she watched Chloe laugh with her. _When you’re with the right person, these things work out._

Once their laughter finally faded, Beca smiled at Chloe and told her, “You’re my person.”

Chloe’s face lit up with pure joy as she responded, “You’re my person, too.”

With a fierce surge of happiness, Beca lunged forward to latch her lips to Chloe’s, her hands on either side of her face. This kiss was different from the ones they’d shared throughout the evening; it was more desperate, more needy. Beca took a chance and gently snared Chloe’s bottom lip between her teeth and gave a light tug before releasing it. She was rewarded with a surprised but pleased hum from the back of Chloe’s throat. Spurred on, Beca lightly traced the tip of her tongue over Chloe’s lip. Without hesitation, Chloe granted her access and their tongues met for the first time as Beca flicked hers into Chloe’s mouth. This time, Chloe emitted a rougher groan and Beca found herself being guided down so that they were both lying on their sides on the bed.

She waited for awkwardness to set in, but it never did. Chloe changed the angle of their mouths before they continued. Beca started to feel the strings of rationality starting to sever as Chloe took control of the kiss and licked into Beca’s mouth. Chloe’s lips felt increasingly warm against hers and before long, she started to feel light-headed from the sensation and the lack of air.

That stopped being a problem, however, when Chloe suddenly detached their lips with a somewhat embarrassing smacking noise to instead trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Beca’s eyes fluttered, and this time she was the one to make a small whimper. This seemed to encourage Chloe, who slid one hand under the still unbuttoned flannel Beca was wearing. Her fingers met Beca’s stomach, then slid over her side to caress her lower back. Where she touched left a trail of fire on Beca’s skin and Beca’s hands moved without her permission, one tangling into Chloe’s hair and the other moving to her hip. Chloe’s kisses had made their way down to Beca’s collarbone, and, after a brief hesitation, Chloe flattened her tongue on Beca’s neck and dragged it upward.

Something snapped in Beca. She let out a low moan and the hand on Chloe’s hip tightened to pull them closer together. Beca tangled their legs, one of Chloe’s in between hers and one of hers in between Chloe’s as their lips met again. They both began breathing hard through their noses and in between kisses as the air around them heated. Beca’s lower stomach tightened and her heart was going crazy.

Experimentally, Beca rocked forward once gently, only to feel Chloe respond with a press of her own. Never one to back down from a challenge, Beca rocked forward harder, pressing her hips into Chloe’s leg and… oh. _Oh_. Chloe reciprocated immediately, practically grinding into Beca’s leg. Beca’s hips shunted forward of their own volition and they both groaned at the contact.

Suddenly, Beca felt Chloe stiffen in her arms before flinging herself backward and away from Beca so there was more than a foot of space between them.

Beca’s eyes flew open and she rushed out automatically, “I’m so sorry!” as she took in Chloe’s swollen lips, messy hair, and darkened eyes.

Panting, Chloe held out a hand to reassure Beca. “No, it’s totally fine, there’s nothing wrong. In fact, that was… that was pretty amazing.” She took a breath to steady herself and Beca smirked, pleased at the effect she’d elicited. “It’s just – we should stop, or I’m not going to want to stop.”

Relaxing to lie on her back, Beca gazed at the ceiling and tried to slow her own heart rate. “You’re right,” she said. “But also… that was awesome. You know what?” she asked, turning her head to look at Chloe, who raised a questioning eyebrow. “I changed my mind. Let’s just do it now.”

Chloe gaped at her for a moment before Beca broke and started laughing. Chloe swatted at Beca before joining in on her laughter. By the time they calmed, they were lying on their backs next to each other, wiping their eyes from laughing so much.

Once they had settled, Chloe looked affectionately at Beca and said, “Come on, Horn Dog. Let’s watch some Netflix.”

 “Sounds good, dude,” Beca replied, sitting up. “I’m gonna need a cold shower first, though,” she added.

As Chloe moved to grab her laptop from the counter so they could watch their show in bed, she smiled suggestively at Beca and practically purred, “Mmmm… I’ll probably join you in there…”

Beca’s face warmed and she spluttered incoherently while Chloe threw back her head with another laugh.

“That’s – that’d ruin the whole point –” Beca finally choked out.

Chloe merely smiled at how flustered the brunette had become and quickly leaned in to place a peck on the tip of her nose as she climbed back into their bed, precariously balancing her laptop.

“Are you coming or not?” she asked, patting the spot beside her. “I will watch Riverdale without you.”

With an indignant huff, Beca shot back, “Don’t you dare!” and practically threw herself onto her spot on their bed to settle in place for their show.

As Chloe was turning on her laptop, Beca reminded Chloe, “So, you wanted to have some sort of adult conversation?”

“Oh yeah!” Chloe said, turning to Beca. “Um, Beca?”

“Yes?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Duh.”

“Well, that’s settled then,” replied Chloe. “Good talk.”

Beca nodded once and said, “You know, I like this adult thing. We’re so good at it.”

“Sure,” hummed Chloe, who was focused on getting their show ready, “Now come here.”

As she leaned into Chloe, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders to draw Beca even closer into her side, Beca couldn’t remember when she’d last felt so at peace.

Chloe must have sensed her mood, because she turned to press a kiss to Beca’s temple and whispered, “Even just this is pretty perfect to me, Bec.”

Beca hummed in agreement and rested her head against Chloe’s shoulder, feeling Chloe’s hand rub soothingly up and down her arm. Chloe was right; this really was perfection in itself. This was all she wanted.

For now.


End file.
